AUBURN, Ala. – Bruce Pearl and the Auburn men’s basketball have an embarrassment of frontcourt riches.
In addition to 7-foot-1 Walker Kessler, a sophomore who has become the nation’s top shot blocker after transferring from North Carolina, the second-ranked Tigers have 6-10 freshman Jabari Smith, who also happens to be their top 3-point shooter. Then there are the three other big men coming off the bench, and two of them were starters last season.
“It’s the best frontcourt I’ve ever had – anywhere,” said Pearl, who took over at Auburn eight years ago and has also headed up the programs at Southern Indiana (1992-2001), Milwaukee (2001-05) and Tennessee (2005-11).
“Tobias Harris, pretty good at Tennessee. Wayne (Chism), Tyler Smith were pretty good at Tennessee. But these guys are the best I’ve ever had.”
The two new big men are major reasons why the Tigers are leading the Southeastern Conference standings by two games entering Saturday’s visit to Florida (16-10, 6-7). They are the foundation of why Auburn (24-2, 12-1) recently spent three weeks at No. 1, its first ascent to the top of the AP Top 25.
Smith is the team’s top scorer and a likely NBA draft lottery pick, potentially even No. 1. He has averaged 15.8 points and 6.7 rebounds while hitting 41.9% of his shots from 3-point range this season. He had a career-best 31 points and seven 3-pointers Wednesday night against Vanderbilt.
Kessler (12.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game) has been a huge presence literally and figuratively inside for the Tigers. He has averaged 4.73 blocks per game, and he stands three blocks shy of breaking the single-season record of 126 set by Kyle Davis in 2002-03. He’s also one of only five players in SEC history with multiple career triple-doubles, a group led by former LSU star Shaquille O’Neal’s six.
“No doubt in my mind that our frontcourt collective is the best frontcourt in the nation, or one of the best,” Kessler said.
He has blocked at least seven shots seven times already. Horace Spencer is the only other Auburn player to have seven blocks in a game during Pearl’s tenure, and that was six years ago.
AP photo by Butch Dill / Auburn’s Devan Cambridge dunks during a Big 12/SEC Challenge game on Jan. 29 in Auburn, Ala.While Auburn’s big men are leading the way, the Tigers get major contributions from their backcourt: Wendell Green Jr., K.D. Johnson and starting point guard Zep Jasper.
It’s a different makeup than the Tigers’ Final Four team in 2018-19. That groundbreaking squad was led by sharp-shooter Bryce Brown and point guard Jared Harper. The versatile Chuma Okeke, who was a first-round NBA draft pick, was the tallest starter at 6-8, with Austin Wiley coming off the bench.
Like Okeke, Smith gives Auburn a frequent mismatch on the perimeter. He and Kessler are the unquestioned frontcourt stars but they have capable and sometimes explosive backups, too.
Jaylin Williams (6-8) started every game last season and was a double-digit scorer. He has averaged 6.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 15 minutes a game this season.
Devan Cambridge (6-6) started much of last season and has averages (6.1 points, 3.7 boards) that are similar to Williams. His nine offensive rebounds at Missouri were the most by any Auburn player in 20 years.
Dylan Cardwell (6-11) ranks fifth in the SEC in blocked shots despite averaging less than 12 minutes a game.
“We know Dylan and Jaylin could play anywhere in the country, start anywhere in the country,” Smith said. “So having them behind us gives us so much confidence coming out of the game.
“We’ve got people who are just as good as us coming in. It takes the pressure off us. It’s fun.”